


Not Alone

by Mierke



Category: The Prom - Sklar/Beguelin/Martin
Genre: F/F
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2019-05-06
Updated: 2019-05-06
Packaged: 2020-02-27 07:01:21
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 2,932
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/18733999
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Mierke/pseuds/Mierke
Summary: When Emma breaks up with Alyssa before the prom even happens, Alyssa realises she needs to do something.





	Not Alone

**Author's Note:**

> Set in a slightly AU world, in which Alyssa told Emma _before_ the court-mandated prom how hard things were for her, and Emma decided she had enough.

"You really do think the universe revolves around you, don't you?" 

Alyssa had never heard Emma sound so cold. They had fought before, of course they had, but this felt different. Emma had turned around and was walking away, her back - her wonderful, beautiful back - screaming at Alyssa to do something. 

"What?" Her voice was shaking, but she forced the four-letter word out, hoping to keep Emma from leaving, to keep her here, to... 

Emma turned around, her hands balled up into fists, her body trembling as if it couldn't contain the rage it was holding. Alyssa unconsciously took a step back, Emma's anger like a force field pushing her away. 

"You talk about having to be perfect for your mother as if I didn't move out of my own home to live with my grandmother. You act like you're the victim here, while _I'm_ the one being ostracised, and you're not doing anything to stop it." 

_I'm so sorry Emma._ Alyssa thought the words, but she couldn't push them past her lips, couldn't articulate what was going on inside of her. She knew Emma was bearing the brunt of everything that was going on; she knew she should stop her friends, should stop her mom, but she didn't have that power, she was just Alyssa, that's all she was. 

"I can't!" Tears itched at the corner of her eyes, and she blinked to keep them from falling. 

"You won't! You think this is easy for me? You think I like being the outsider? I need you here, Alyssa, not all the way over in I'm-so-straight country." 

It felt like Emma was stabbing her, every word going straight to her heart like a knife from an attacker who knew what they were doing. Her whole body was hurting, and she had to summon all her strength to stay upright and not fall to her knees. 

"But my mom..." 

Didn't Emma _see_? Her mom was all she had. She had no other family, no one who would take her in if her mom kicked her out. Her father had never wanted her, that's for sure. And the idea of her grandparents taking their lesbian granddaughter in was laughable. She had to be perfect for her mom, there was simply no choice. If she wasn't perfect, then no one would love her. 

"You seem to love your mother more than you love yourself. And that breaks my heart." 

This time, Emma did leave. Alyssa fell to her knees, pretty sure this was the end of their relationship. 

"Emma!" She tried to shout, but it came out more in a whisper. Her tears were now falling in earnest, and she desperately longed for someone to talk to, someone to hold her, someone to help her through this. But she had pushed away the only person who knew her. She couldn't even be who Emma needed her to be. 

"Alyssa?" 

Alyssa quickly wiped away her tears, stood up and smoothed out the wrinkles in her cheerleading uniform. 

"Greg!" she said, trying to sound enthusiastic. 

"Are you okay?" 

Alyssa almost said yes, then shook her head. 

"I know how that feels." Greg laughed a little and took her hand. "Let's go somewhere and talk." 

He led her outside, away from the school, and they found their way to a bench near the river. It was a favourite spot of theirs, and Alyssa felt her tears start up again. Greg was a good guy, and he was just someone else she was hurting by trying to be somebody she was not. 

"Is this about Emma?" Greg looked sideways at her, and Alyssa's heart skipped a beat. Did he know? Had he figured it out? And - the traitorous thought formed without her permission - would that be such a bad thing? 

She nodded, looking at the water instead of looking at Greg. 

"Are you the girl she was taking to prom?" His voice was soft and gentle, not accusing as she'd thought it would be, as her mother's voice would be if she found out. 

This was it, Alyssa thought. Even more so than the days before, even more than her fight with Emma, this would be her defining moment. She could either deny and bury any trace of herself far, far away until she was middle-aged and empty nest syndrome would bring it all up again, or she could... open up. Admit. Change her _life_ instead of changing herself. Shaping her world instead of letting the world shape her. 

She looked at Greg, who had turned away again and was looking at the river, and she took a breath. 

"Yes." Her voice didn't even shake this time, and for a moment, Alyssa was so, so proud of herself. "But I'm pretty sure she just broke up with me." 

"We can fix that." Greg sounded so confident that Alyssa perked up. 

"You think?" When the magnitude of what he was offering caught up to her, she added: "Why would you even want to?" 

"I've known from the start this wasn't anything real," he said, as he gestured between the two of them. "It wasn't for me, either. But I've still come to love you a great deal, and I want you to be happy. You're my friend."

* * *

Alyssa's phone was on her bed, Greg's voice coming through the speaker while Alyssa tried to get dressed.

"I can't do this!" She had lost count of how many times she had said that over the past 30 minutes, but Greg was patient as ever, and assured her over and over and over again that she could do this. "What if she hates me?" 

"Emma or your mom?" 

Alyssa sat down on the ground, the skirt of her light pink dress pooling around her, overwhelmed by the magnitude of what she was doing. 

"I don't know. Either. Both. Worst-case scenario, I publicly proclaim my undying love for Emma, she rejects me, and mom kicks me out. Then I'll have nobody left. Maybe I shouldn't do this." 

"You'll still have me." She looked up at the twin sounds of Greg's voice, bursting into tears when she saw him standing in the doorway. 

"Your mom let me in," he said, holding up a couple of different ties. "I convinced her I simply had to come up to make sure our colours matched." 

He hung up the phone and dropped his phone next to hers on the bed. 

"Her knowing smile as she let me up was kind of unnerving." 

"She likes you," Alyssa said through her sniffles. "She thinks you're a good influence on me." 

"Little does she know," he grinned. He pulled up his pants to show he was wearing rainbow socks. "Hidden, but still there. Just like you. I'm with you all the way, Alyssa. We'll make this into the most beautiful evening of your life." 

Alyssa finished dressing, Greg picked a pink tie, and together they left her room. 

"Oh, Alyssa," her mom said. "You look wonderful. I'm so happy you get to have your prom, like a normal girl. I made sure nothing untoward would happen today." 

Greg and Alyssa shared a glance. 

"That sounds ominous," he mouthed at her, and Alyssa nodded. Her grand gesture depended on this prom being an actual inclusive prom, and if her mom had done anything to jeopardise that, even after the court order to hold a prom... 

"What do you mean, mom?" 

"Oh, nothing for you to worry about." 

She herded Alyssa and Greg into the car, and they huddled close. 

"I don't trust this," Alyssa whispered, knowing her mother would dismiss it as lover's talk, and Greg nodded. 

"Whatever is going on, it's not good," he said. "But we'll find a way around it, I promise you." 

They arrived at the venue, and Alyssa took a deep breath as she walked through the door. This was it. This would be her moment. Emma didn't seem to be there yet, but that just gave her a little more time. Except... 

"Did you know the venue had changed?" she asked Greg, and he looked at her askance. 

"What do you mean?" They had been walking towards the end of the room, but he put out a hand to stop her. 

"The old prom was supposed to be at the gym, right?" 

Greg nodded. 

"This new prom was always at this place, though. The PTA decided we needed a bolder venue, and they told the rest of the parents who told us." 

"Us." Alyssa repeated, as something she really didn't want to know dawned on her. "I need to call Emma." 

But Emma didn't pick up her phone, and Alyssa was starting to panic. 

"We're early," Greg said. "Maybe Emma isn't picking up because she's still figuring out what to wear." 

"You're right." Alyssa steeled her spine. This was her moment. This was where she took her stand. "If mom wanted a prom divided, I'll give her a prom divided." 

"What are you planning?" He looked at her with a mixture of fear and respect in his eyes, and Alyssa took her courage from that. That's the way she had looked at Emma when she had announced her plan. She would show Emma that she was more than just a frightened little girl. She would show her mother who she really was. 

"Round up everyone who you think will be amenable to an inclusive prom. I know there are more people than you and me here who aren't that stupid." 

"While I would love to help," Greg said, carefully picking his words, "I don't think that's the way to go. They need a leader, Alyssa. Emma was too much of an outsider to get any real support." 

He looked at her meaningfully, and Alyssa swallowed. 

"You mean me, don't you.” 

Greg nodded. Alyssa looked around, at the people she'd called her friends, at the people she stood to lose. And then she thought of Emma, alone in the gym, confused and angry and hurt.  
Alyssa wasn't sure whether there even was a gym to go to, but she had to try. She had to show Emma that she wasn't alone anymore. 

"Okay," she said, to convince Greg as much as herself that she was ready and able to do this. The venue had filled up, and as Alyssa made her way towards the stage where the band was playing, her breathing sped up. Everything inside of her was screaming to abort, to go back to the nice little girl she'd always been. Just before she arrived at the stage, she closed her eyes, took a deep breath and thought of Emma. Thought of the fire she had, thought of how strong she was. She thought of everything Emma had to go through and had to go through alone, because she had been scared. Not anymore. 

She waited for the end of a song and climbed upon the stage, apologetically looking at the band members as she asked for a minute at the microphone. The singer took a step back, and Alyssa turned towards her classmates. She could see her mother on the edge of the room and resolutely looked the other way. This was not about her mom. Not this time. 

"Hi!" she said, and cringed a little at her enthusiasm. "We deserve to have a nice prom, don't you think?" 

Some cheers went up, and Alyssa smiled. 

"Exactly. You and you and you and me, we all deserve the best prom ever. You know, my date couldn't make it tonight." 

She could hear some consolatory remarks, and Greg gave her a thumbs-up. The group closest to him threw the two of them some confused looks. 

"As you can see-" She pointed at Greg, who beamed and gave a wave to all the people who had turned around. "Greg is here. That's because Greg wasn't supposed to be my date. Emma was." 

It was as if the entire room gasped at once, and Alyssa had to hold on to the microphone stand to prevent herself from running the other way. This scrutiny was all she had tried to avoid for so long. 

"I was stupid, and I messed it up by letting you walk all over her. You pushed her out. You hurt her. Over and over again you made her feel like some kind of monster and I let it happen because I was scared. Not anymore. I am gay. And the moment I saw Emma clumsily play _Imagine_ , I knew she was the one for me." 

The room was silent. Alyssa looked around, still steadfastly ignoring the right corner near the entrance where she had seen her mother. She hadn't seen Greg move until he stood next to her on the stage and grabbed her hand. She smiled at him and turned back to the stage. 

"Emma was never told about the change of venue and is currently either on her way to or at a non-existent prom. I don't know what she'll find there, but I know I want to be there with her. I want to show her she is not alone. I want to fill up that gym with people who don't care who she falls in love with, who see a person instead of an orientation, who believe, like I do, that no one should be alone." 

Her entire body was trembling with the magnitude of what she had just done, and Greg squeezed her hand. Together they stepped off the stage, and the students spread out to give them a way to the door. Alyssa looked straight ahead, her spine as strong as she could make it, her body desperately holding on to Greg's fingers, that point of contact her reminder that _she_ was not alone. 

They made it to the door, and outside, and Alyssa felt her tears coming on. She had counted on her mother stopping her and wasn't sure how to feel about the fact she hadn't. Relief for her freedom warred with the fear that this meant her mother didn't want her anymore, didn't care enough to fight for her. But she pushed both those feelings aside, because tonight wasn't about her, tonight was about Emma. 

And so she marched on. She didn't look behind her, wasn't sure she wanted to know what she would find, instead focusing on the path in front of her. As they arrived at the gym, Emma just came out of the building. 

"Emma!" 

Alyssa ran towards her and skidded to a halt just in front of her date. 

"Don't go!" she said, a little out of breath. 

"You want to humiliate me some more?" Emma asked, and the bitterness slammed into Alyssa, who bit her lip to keep herself from crying. 

"No!" Alyssa said. She wanted to reach out and take Emma's hand, but she wasn't sure whether she could do that anymore. "I know I hurt you. And you don't have to forgive me, that's not what this is about." 

Alyssa dared a look over her shoulder, and what she saw made her feel lighter than she had in months. She turned back to Emma, feeling almost giddy at what she was about to say. 

"This is about making sure no one is alone at their prom." 

"What are you talking about? You had a prom without me!" Emma took a step back, apparently on the verge of turning around again and walking home. 

"I brought the prom to you," Alyssa said, gesturing towards the people who were coming their way. "I didn't know the venue had changed. And when I got there, I tried to call you. And at first, I wanted to come and get you, bring you to the prom." 

"But you were too ashamed of me?" The bite in Emma's voice made Alyssa falter for a moment, but she had meant what she had said. This wasn't about getting Emma's forgiveness. This was about giving Emma the prom she deserved. 

"I thought you should have a prom with people who feel you deserve one. A prom where you weren't looking over your shoulder for the next person to attack you, but where you could just be yourself. I told everyone you were supposed to be my date, and that I was bringing the prom to you, and that anyone who knew what it felt like to be an outsider, to be alone, should come with me." 

The line of their classmates was now entering the gym. Alyssa smiled as she saw that some of them had snatched up a snack bowl or two, and she thought she even spotted someone with a disco ball.

"You told everyone?" Emma's voice brought her back to the conversation at hand, and Alyssa nodded. 

"Apparently, not everyone hates you. They just needed someone to tell them that was okay." 

"But what about your mom?" 

Alyssa shrugged. "That's not important right now." 

"I meant it when I said this was not about getting your forgiveness," she said, too scared to look into Emma's eyes. "But would you like to go to the prom with me?" 

"It isn't much," Emma said. "It's just a gym. There are no streamers hanging in the air, no confetti falling down." 

They heard screams of delight coming from the building as someone hooked up the sound system and music filled the air. 

"I don't need all that," Alyssa said. "I just want to dance with you." 

"Then yes," Emma said, holding out her hand for Alyssa to take. "Please take me to the prom."


End file.
